June 04, 2014

Guyana: "At least a dozen" chikungunya cases

At least a dozen more cases of the Chikungunya virus have been confirmed even as the Ministry of Health continues fervent efforts to control its impact.

Last week Guyana recorded its first two cases of the disease – a four-year-old girl and a 50-year-old woman. The two cases were among 30 blood samples from patients with symptoms including fever, that were sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) laboratory in Trinidad for testing.

The latest cases were among a batch of 130 samples that were taken in recent days. All of the cases thus far were found in the Berbice area, with the first two coming from Canje and some of the recent cases also coming from sections of Canje and Corentyne.

This development has been confirmed by Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud, who told Kaieteur News that the total number of confirmed cases currently stands at 14.

This publication understands that health officials are viewing this latest development as worrisome but not at all unexpected, since the possibility exists that the situation will escalate before it subsides.

But in order to keep the situation at a relatively manageable level, Dr Persaud said that “we have increased our vector control and awareness efforts.”

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At least a dozen more cases of the Chikungunya virus have been confirmed even as the Ministry of Health continues fervent efforts to control its impact.

Last week Guyana recorded its first two cases of the disease – a four-year-old girl and a 50-year-old woman. The two cases were among 30 blood samples from patients with symptoms including fever, that were sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) laboratory in Trinidad for testing.

The latest cases were among a batch of 130 samples that were taken in recent days. All of the cases thus far were found in the Berbice area, with the first two coming from Canje and some of the recent cases also coming from sections of Canje and Corentyne.

This development has been confirmed by Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud, who told Kaieteur News that the total number of confirmed cases currently stands at 14.

This publication understands that health officials are viewing this latest development as worrisome but not at all unexpected, since the possibility exists that the situation will escalate before it subsides.

But in order to keep the situation at a relatively manageable level, Dr Persaud said that “we have increased our vector control and awareness efforts.”